Pep Guardiola savaged over ‘really poor’ scenes as controversial Man City vs Wolves footage drops
Pep Guardiola was seen deep in discussion with referee Farai Hallam after Man City were denied a penalty in Saturday’s win over Wolves.
Man City beat Wolves 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium, but much of the discussion has centred around a moment in the first half.
Omar Marmoush had got in behind the Wolves backline and cut inside Yerson Mosquera, with the ball striking the defender’s elbow from close range.
On his Premier League debut, Hallam ignored VAR’s advice of a Man City penalty and stuck to his on-field decision of no penalty.
Hallam has been praised for sticking to his decision, which has been an extremely rare sight in the Premier League since the introduction of VAR.
Pep Guardiola slammed for heated moment after Man City vs Wolves
Not everyone was in agreement with the referee’s bold decision on Saturday.
The ball had clearly struck Mosquera’s arm, which was outstretched as the defender ran back in an attempt to close down Marmoush.
Much of the discussion centred around the usage of the term: ‘In a natural position’. The phrase dominates talk about handball decisions while being completely subjective.
Hallam felt Mosquera’s arm had been in a natural position, and explained as much in his announcement to the Etihad Stadium.
But Guardiola was incensed and was captured in a heated discussion with the referee after the game, pointing and moving Matheus Nunes away after the midfielder looked to shake the official’s hand.
In a social media post, Daily Mail journalist Jack Gaughan wrote: “This sort of moment has been coming for weeks and Guardiola has legitimate grievances about plenty of decisions. It’s clearly built up over time.
“But to act like this towards a ref doing his first Premier League game (after a call that I’ve seen some City fans agree with) is really poor. The Nunes bit in particular.
“With the quotes about Hallam later in the day, he’s basically acted as the scapegoat for everything that’s gone before.”
What did Guardiola say after Man City vs Wolves?
For many, the sight of a new Premier League referee doing something differently from the old guard was a breath of fresh air.
Since the introduction of VAR, referee after referee has gone to the screen and appeared to agree with the overturning of their decision, simply for the sake of it.
And not always with the right call emerging. While Saturday’s incident was heavily discussed, many fans agreed that the right outcome had been reached.
Not Guardiola, though, who, after the game, said: “The referee made his debut, now everybody will know him. It’s the first time, I think, he’ll go to the TV and disallow for a normal position of the arm.
“I’m pretty sure Howard Webb tomorrow is going to appear in the media to explain why it’s not a penalty. What they’ve done against [Manchester] United – the first time they’ve done it, because the situation was a little bit of a doubt, right?
“That’s why Jeremy [Doku] could not play [vs Bodo/Glimt], for the action from [Diogo] Dalot. But it’s OK. I’m waiting tomorrow; don’t wait until Wednesday, we have Champions League, we’re busy. Howard Webb, come tomorrow, explain why it’s not a penalty.”